geidai
Yesterday I went to the festival of Tokyo University of Music and Arts (Geidai) in Ueno.
http://www.geidai.ac.jp/english/index.html
Part open day:
…part exhibition:
… part car boot sale:
…and part barbeque and music festival:
a good time was had by all!
The students kept asking me how it compared to festivals in the UK, and I had to say that I’d never seen anything like this in the UK. But then maybe my experiences in Bournville aren’t particularly representative.
I tried asking them what the festival was for and who came etc etc. It seems that many students from all the other Tokyo art universities come to these things, as well as families of Geidai students. In addition to showing and selling some of their work, each department has its own batch of beer and food stalls as well as two or three student bands playing throughout the evening. After which, apparently it is traditional for the students to decide to go for a swim in the pond of the nearby park.
Now that part at least sounds familiar!